Song Jinzhao frowned. There was pain in her crippled legs; perhaps there was still hope.
She was about to lift the other person's damp clothes, but was stopped by Ye Liangyu.
He clutched the hem tightly, his knuckles turning pale with the force. Urgency tinged his voice, "Don't move~"
"Thank you, miss, for saving my life. You may leave now. Tomorrow, I will have a servant bring gifts to your home to express my gratitude."
Song Jinzhao looked up at him. "Does Mr. Ye know who I am?"
That day, there had been a screen blocking the view, and this gentleman never left his home, so he probably didn't recognize her.
Seeing that Song Jinzhao still wouldn't let go, Ye Liangyu felt a surge of humiliation growing stronger within him. He said in a low voice, "Please, miss, tell me your name."
"This is improper. Please, miss, release your grip."
Song Jinzhao pressed his hand onto the armrest of the chair and decisively lifted the hem of his clothes, rolling up his pant leg. "In a physician's eyes, this is not impropriety. It's treating the sick and saving lives."
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Song Jinzhao, Song Qiming's elder sister, and a highly skilled physician."
Ye Liangyu was stunned. He hadn't expected her to be a physician, nor Song Qiming's sister—the farming girl who built the waterwheel.
No wonder she discovered he had fallen into the water; her home was right next door.
His attitude softened considerably, carrying a hint of self-mockery as he said bitterly, "Miss Song, you jest. Even the imperial physicians from the palace have said I will never stand again in this lifetime. What could you possibly do?"
The legs were of unequal length, the kneecaps deformed and misshapen, with outward bowing at the knees—typical symptoms of malunion after a comminuted fracture.
However, this protrusion seemed odd.
Song Jinzhao reached out and pressed it. There was a distinct foreign object sensation in the cartilage area.
"Was there something left inside after the injury that wasn't removed?"
Ye Liangyu's pupils contracted to pinpoints. "How did you know?"
Song Jinzhao: "I told you, I'm a physician. What is it?"
Ye Liangyu's expression turned grim. "A fragment from an arrowhead. The imperial physicians didn't dare remove it. They said pulling it out would kill me."
Song Jinzhao raised an eyebrow. Without an X-ray, she could only rely on careful manual examination.
"Does it hurt here?"
"When were you shot by the arrow?"
"How did the imperial physicians treat you at the time?"
...
Ye Liangyu, seeing her completely serious expression, couldn't bring himself to tell her to leave. He could only answer whatever she asked.
After all, she had saved his life. Consider it indulging a physician's curiosity. In the end, she would surely say there was nothing to be done.
After her examination, Song Jinzhao already had a clear idea. She stood up and said, "It can still be treated. You'll just have to endure some hardship."
Ye Liangyu's breath caught. He stared at the light, confident expression on Song Jinzhao's face, his gaze frozen for several seconds, his mind blank, unable to think of anything.
Just as Song Jinzhao made a slight movement to leave, he suddenly grabbed her sleeve, his upper body nearly pitching forward onto the ground.
Song Jinzhao swiftly caught his shoulders and pressed him back into the chair.
Ye Liangyu's eyes locked onto Song Jinzhao, desperately seeking confirmation. "You said my legs can be treated? That they can get better? That I can stand up?"
A smile touched the corner of Song Jinzhao's mouth as she nodded in agreement. "Correct. With good results, you could be like a normal person. With less ideal results, you might have a slight limp."
"But at the very least, you'll be able to walk. Your knees and the injured area won't constantly ache and torment you as they do now."
Ye Liangyu trembled all over. He opened his mouth but couldn't speak, the words stuck in his throat. So this was what it felt like to glimpse dawn from the depths of hell.
"Why haven't Mr. Ye's servants arrived yet?"
This man was soaked through. He needed a bath and a change of clothes, otherwise he'd catch a cold tomorrow and fall ill again.
Ye Liangyu's head felt heavy and dizzy, unsure if it was from the pond water clogging his brain or from being immersed in the shock of the revelation and not yet recovered.
"Yesterday, several of my attendants caught a chill and developed fevers. They took medicine and probably haven't woken up yet."
Early the next morning, when Song Qiming and the other two arrived for their lessons, they discovered that Teacher Ye was actually smiling.
For over a month, they had never seen Ye Liangyu smile.
He had always been expressionless, cold and detached, not even mildly warm. Yet now, he was smiling.
The three of them hardly dared to breathe. The kinder Ye Liangyu's attitude, the more nervous they felt inside, as if their hearts were about to leap out, ready to flee at any moment.
Li Zien's folding fan swayed back and forth in his hand, appearing elegant and suave, though in Song Jinzhao's eyes, it looked rather foolish.
Especially since he was wearing a brocade robe embroidered with green bamboo that reached his ankles, wrapped up tightly from head to toe. On such a hot day, he wasn't afraid of heatstroke.
"You've been drinking that one cup of dark plum and rock sugar tea for a full half-hour. Haven't you finished yet?"
He hadn't moved from that stool for half an hour. Sitting there was one thing, but his eyes seemed to be in bloom, lecherously wandering everywhere. Just looking at him was nauseating.
Li Zien picked up the teacup, deliberately showing off the expensive red jade ring on his finger, his pinky raised like an orchid.
"For some reason, even though the ingredients are the same, the dark plum and rock sugar tea made by Miss Song is exceptionally delicious."
Song Jinzhao averted her gaze, feeling a bit sick. "The recipe is exactly the same. If what you make doesn't taste good, Young Master Li should reflect on that carefully."
Li Zien's expression faltered slightly. Her response was different from what others usually said, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to reply.
He pretended to cough twice and asked obliquely, "I see Miss Song has reached marriageable age. Being away from home for long periods, if matchmakers came calling, you might miss them."
After enduring this for so long, it turned out this man was eyeing her for marriage.
Dressed like a gaudy butterfly, he should find a mirror and look at himself. He didn't have two ounces of lean meat on his whole body, not enough for her to fight with a single finger.
She set the cup down heavily on the table, released her grip, and the porcelain cup cracked from the bottom up like a spiderweb, shattering into a pile of fragments.
"Regarding marriage, in this world, only others wait for me. I do not wait for others."
"I was born with great strength and tend to be heavy-handed. Therefore, my future husband must cultivate a body like a fortress of copper and iron."
"Otherwise, with a light pat from me, his chest might shatter; a flick of my wrist, and his arm might break~"
"A lift of my leg, and his ribs fracture; a step of my foot, and his foot bones crush. How could we possibly live together like that?"
A sour taste rose from Li Zien's throat into his nasal cavity. His Adam's apple bobbed as a hiccup brought the acid back up.
"I observed Miss Song taking care of her younger brother; you seemed very gentle and competent."
With a light flick of her index finger, the chopstick held between her fingers instantly snapped in two.
The crisp snap made Li Zien's shoulders jerk, as if he felt his own arm breaking.
"That's because I was constantly restraining myself. The child is too small. I was afraid that with even a slight use of force, he might end up in pieces, which wouldn't be good."
Li Zien swallowed hard. "There are no men in this world with bodies of copper and iron. With such divine strength and poor control, Miss Song, you might remain unmarried."
Song Jinzhao blinked, her eyes and brows smiling. "That's not really a problem. Qiming is still young. My grandfather wants me to take in a husband from elsewhere, someone who has lost both parents. Even if something happens, in the village, he wouldn't be able to leave."
The attendant standing nearby trembled, his legs shaking. He stealthily tugged at Li Zien's sleeve with trembling fingers. Seeing his master react, he finally spoke up: "Young Master, the Madam specifically instructed you to return home for lunch today. It's about time."
Li Zien hurriedly set down his teacup and stood up, his fan nearly slipping from his grasp and falling to the floor.
"I hadn't realized how much time had passed. Miss Song, let us continue our conversation another day."
Watching the master and servant depart in haste, Song Jinzhao let out a cold laugh. She swept the shards of porcelain from the table and dumped them into a corner to fill the cracks between the bricks.
The young servant's neck and back were drenched in sweat. "Young Master, this Miss Song is truly not someone to be trifled with. A woman like this cannot be married. One would surely end up crippled."
Li Zien's heart had already retreated from the idea, but not wanting his servant to see his fear, he insisted, "She's all talk. She wouldn't actually kill anyone."
The servant's throat bobbed, his voice dry. If she were really taken back as a concubine, and future jealous quarrels erupted, a lowly servant like him would be tortured to death.
"Miss Song has quite a few lives on her hands. She truly is capable of killing. Moreover, she intends to take a husband into her family. That alone disqualifies you."
Li Zien blinked and offered no further rebuttal.
Perhaps it was better to follow his father's advice after all?
Then he would have to change his plans.
During the midday meal, Song Qiming put down his bowl in astonishment. "Mr. Ye's leg ailment can be cured?"
Song Jinzhao nodded. "I examined him yesterday. Curing it is essentially guaranteed, though the process will be somewhat painful."
Song Qiming seemed to understand. "No wonder Mr. Ye has been smiling all day today and his attitude towards me has been exceptionally gentle. So that's the reason."
It was hard to imagine the other man's wretched state from last night. In Song Qiming's mind, Ye Liangyu had never left the chair in the main hall, his disabled legs always concealed beneath wide robes, never shown to others.
Song Qiming pressed further, "When does Elder Sister plan to start treating Mr. Ye's legs?"
"It will take a few days to prepare. Later, Shi Xue and I will go next door to check on him again. You stay home and keep an eye on Anhao."
Song Qiming nodded in agreement.
